Los Angeles Black Men’s Health Network

Introduction

Black males are known to suffer extremely high rates of heart disease, cancer, homicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, HIV disease, injuries, and other major causes of disability and death. 

Mission

The Los Angeles Black Men's Health Network was founded in January 2023 to raise public awareness about the excessive morbidity and mortality rates in Black communities in general and among African-American and Black Immigrant males in particular. 

Description

The Los Angeles Black Men's Health Network endeavors to:

  • Grow a network of professionals with a shared commitment to advancing health equity for Black males from throughout the African Diaspora. 

  • Provide effective, culturally-sensitive preventive health education for Black men and the Black community, through churches, schools, community health centers, homeless shelters, etc. 

  • Facilitate health and wellness workshops, non-violent conflict resolution classes, tobacco prevention and cessation programs, AIDS prevention education, and pedestrian and bike safety workshops, etc. 

  • Advocate for and focus attention on the health needs of all minorities sectors including women and children, believing that the overall health of any community depends upon a positive balance between the genders.

Action Steps

  • Convene local leadership and allies

  • Foster network development

  • Advocate for or against issues

  • Impact local health/public health policy decision-making

  • Influence funding decisions 

Join the Los Angeles Black Men’s Health Network today!

Let’s Make a Difference

Lead Organizer 

Dr. Randal Henry

An expert on public health issues in LA’s historically Pan-African/Black communities, Dr. Henry is the Founding CEO of Community Intelligence, an afrocentric research and health policy consulting firm; and, the Executive Director of the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, a non-profit working to improve health and wellbeing in under-resourced communities. He is the author of Born in South LA: 100+ Remarkable African Americans Who Were Born, Raised, Lived or Died in South LA, and Go Crenshaw: An Afrocentric Guide to the Crenshaw District.

Dr. Henry earned his doctorate and master of public health from UCLA his BA in Political Science from Cal Poly Pomona. He was born in South LA and lives in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Community with his beloved wife Manal and their two children, Taj and Sadiq.

Black Lives Matter Report Series

BLM Series #3: Incomplete Streets I — Pedestrian Injuries and Mobility Justice in South LA

This report describes motor vehicle versus pedestrian related injuries and deaths in Los Angeles (LA), California from 2016 through 2020.

BLM Series #4: Incomplete Streets II — The Presence or Absence of Pedestrian Safety Measures at High-Injury Corridor Intersections in South LA

This report was created to identify the presence or absence of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recommended pedestrian safety measures along high-injury collision corridors in historic South LA.

BLM Series #1: Racial Disparities in Firearm-Related Injuries and Deaths in Los Angeles County, California

Despite decreases relative to those experienced by the general population, LA County’s Pan-African/Black residents suffered from persistent disparities in homicide victimization, firearm-related deaths, non-fatal firearm-related injuries and firearm-related emergency treatments and emergency department visits.

BLM Series #2: Tobacco is Still Killing Us

This report is the second in the Black Lives Matter series by Community Intelligence and the Center for Healthy Neighborhoods digesting public health data on the leading causes of death and premature death among Pan-African/Black residents of Los Angeles County, California (i.e., LA County). Despite encouraging declines in deaths from Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes across the fourteen-year review period, persistent racial disparities and increases in deaths from Hypertension were disheartening.

BLM Series #5: Trends in Cancer Related Deaths Among Pan-African/Black Residents of LA County

The purpose of this report is to identify and highlight trends in cancer-related deaths, premature deaths, and health disparities among Pan-African/Black residents of LA County, CA.